Alexander: Now Or Never For Buccos

The Pittsburgh Pirates have the exact same record (18-22) right now as they did a year ago. Is there any reason to believe that this season will have a better ending than last?

To me, the answer is yes. The big difference is Clint Hurdle and the fact that the roster has a little more talent. The young core will be wildly inconsistent and right now, that's what we're seeing. Jose Tabata showed flashes of brilliance while Pedro Alverez looks completely overmatched. Andrew McCutchen needs to raise his level of play and Neil Walker needs to be a little more timely with his hitting.

The problem is that the Pirates still can't win in Milwaukee and no one is stepping up to put this losing streak down. Those of you that were making that overly optimistic leap to a .500 season, didn't factor in the Pirates' ability to reel off double-digit losing streaks while only being able to manage a very rare three-game win streak.

I'm still very hopeful that Hurdle and the core can find a way to scratch out 70 wins which is a tidy 13 game improvement but as far as seeing that ever elusive .500 mark, I'm afraid that Pirate ship has sailed.